The girls also had a runner-up finish at the Subsection 20 meet and finished tied for fourth in Section 5A.

Junior Jenny Hess set a new school indoor record in the 1,600-meter run by running 5:14.5 to break her own record of 5:15.64. She also set a new outdoor record in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:03.81.

Hess was second in the state in the 3,200-meter run and third in the 1600-meter run for the second consecutive year. She received All State recognition in both events.

The team finished the season ranked #1 in the area by the West Central Tribune.

"The team will lose three seniors next year. Joy Hemmesch, Leanne Kolb, and Katrina Orbeck have been outstanding captains this year and have provided top notch leadership to the program," said coach Dave Randgaard.

During the past four years, the three graduates have been a major part of three conference titles and three subsection titles. The girls track team has won 33 track meets over their four years on the varsity team.

The captains for the 2002 girls track team will be seniors Missy Bachman, Carla Hemmesch, Jenny Hess, and Heidi Jansen.

The girls track team concluded their season with a banquet at the Olive Garden in St. Cloud. Awards were presented as follows: MVP - Jenny Hess; Most Improved - Jessica Virant and Hannah Braun; Most Enthusiastic - Joy Hemmesch; and Team Award - Leanne Kolb. All the members earned letters for track this season.

"This team really overachieved this season. We came into this year as a very young team with only three seniors and dominated at a very high level, winning eight championships by 40 points or more and a total of 10 titles," said Randgaard.

"We had lost three very talented seniors from last year, and I didn't expect us to be as good a team as we were in the 2000 season," Randgaard added. "The girls were really a pleasure to coach, and I am very proud of all their accomplish-ments on the track. They are the best team I have ever coached."